SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University senior guard Deleah Gibson scored nine of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead The Rock women's basketball team to a 61-57 victory over Lock Haven in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game Monday night from Morrow Field House.
 
The Bald Eagles led 44-41 after three quarters, but Slippery Rock scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and put together a 15-2 run to take a 56-46 lead with 4:59 to play. Lock Haven answered that rally with their own burst, putting together an 11-3 run to cut the margin to just two points at 59-57 with 21 seconds to play.
 
The Rock turned the ball over on their next possession and LHU got a decent look at a go-ahead 3-pointer, but could not connect and SRU put the game away with a pair of free throws with one second remaining.
 
Slippery Rock snapped a brief two-game losing streak to improve to 10-8 overall and 5-7 in PSAC games. Monday's game was the final PSAC crossover against an Eastern Division team, giving SRU a 4-2 record against the East this season. Lock Haven suffered its second straight four-point defeat and its fourth straight overall loss to slip to 7-10 overall and 5-7 in PSAC games.
 
Gibson's 25 points led all players in the game and marked her third game scoring at least 25 points this winter. She connected on nine of 10 free throw attempts, grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and had one block and one steal.
 
Gibson led four Slippery Rock players in double figures with Isabellah Middleton adding 12 points and seven rebounds and Kennedy Middleton recording a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists. Kaylin Venick also finished with a season-high 10 points to go along with four assists as those four players accounted for 57 of the team's 61 points. Kelley McKnight added the other four points.
 
Success at the free throw line proved huge for The Rock Monday night after SRU combined to shoot just 27 percent from the field (17-of-63) and 21.4 percent from 3-point (6-of-28). The 91.3 percent effort from the charity stripe (21-of-23) accounted for more than a third of the team's points.
 
Lock Haven finished the game shooting 35.6 percent from the field (21-of-59), 31.3 percent from 3-point (5-of-16) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (10-of-12). The Bald Eagles posted a narrow 44-42 edge in total rebounds and a 12-8 edge in second-chance scoring.
 
Alana Robinson was the lone LHU player in double figures and finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks, three steals and four assists. Carly Fitzmorris and Adaliz Corbin each scored eight points for the Bald Eagles.
 
Slippery Rock will now turn its focus to a third conference game in five days and fourth PSAC game in eight days when Indiana University (Pa.) visits Morrow Field House Wednesday night for a 5:30 p.m. tip. That game will serve as the annual SRU "White Out" game with fans encouraged to wear white. Official t-shirts are available at the SGA Bookstore for $5. For tickets, click HERE.
 
 

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